One More Done

We didn't have any extra tasks or errands yesterday, so right after schooling it was back to the bobbin lace. I finished up the piece that I started yesterday and pulled it off the board. I've started posting these pieces on my Facebook page as well if for no other reason than to put something up there while I'm distracted from tatting. Someone posted that I should leave the lace pinned down for awhile to increase tension, but I've far too impatient for that. I've also been told more than once that I generally need to increase my tension. Now, I know how that's accomplished with knitting, crochet, and tatting, but I'm not entirely certain how that's accomplished with the bobbins. Do I need more weight? Do I just pull and tighten more between stitches? Is it just that my starter equipment is terribly inferior? Any answers would be great, or I'll just look about to discover them later.

In the meantime I've started the next piece which has a border going all the way around it. I have to admit that this one had me stymied. I'm still fairly certain that my starting mistakes will rear their heads just as soon as I unpin this one. That being said, I still intend to work it to the end. This pattern is also making want to get proper equipment as I'm using a foam board and cardboard base that came with my lacis kit. It's great for pinning, but it falls over tangling the thread and it doesn't really turn at all. Of course I am reluctant to purchase equipment like a pillow when I have too little experience to know what to get and little money to waste on the purchase. I suppose that means I just suck it up and use what I've got for now.

Done and Started

The morning was chock full of shcooling, a doctor's appointment, and the resulting errands. Of course it's always good when the kids' doctor solves one of their issues with a trip to the grocery store instead of a prescription. It was just a yearly check up, but the oldest child was also having some digestive issues. Anyway, it was well after lunch when I got time to sit and work.

Finally I pulled this piece off the board. It's not quite like I had hoped, but it was mostly done correctly. You can tell that I kind of got the gimp thread in the wrong place a few times. I kept resisting the urge to just weave the thing through the finished lace with a needle. I really, really wanted to just do that and honestly I think that could have totally been done.

After I finished this I almost went straight on to the next section in the book, but then I remembered that I was going to make myself tat something. At first I tried to exercise my design muscles, but they wouldn't respond to prodding. It was about this point that I had a bit of a financial scare as my credit card alerted me to a charge by the city finance office of over $500 instead of the $41 that my business license renewal actually costs. So while on the phone to fix that crazy mistake I just tatted up a tiny triangle. Not a great, or even interesting piece, but I did get some tatting in, so I'm going to count it.

After that I read through the next section in the book and using larger thread again, I wound my bobbins for the next piece. This one uses a pointed beginning and it did throw me a bit. Honestly I won't really know if I did it right until I get it finished, but it also has new ground to learn, so either way, I guess I will have learned something with this section. I used the larger thread and blew up the pattern just a bit, so I could see the pattern better, let's hope it helps.

The rest of the week is devoid of additional tasks. It's just schooling and lace for me. Of course there's not much week left, so I'll just make do with what I have. Hopefully something interesting happens soon to help me focus back on tatting for a while.

I Tried Again

So, I went ahead and tried the last pattern again. I know, I'm surprised myself. I was pretty certain that I was going to just move on, but the pattern was still sitting on the board, so I gave it a shot. Turns out once I figured out my earlier mistake it started turning out okay. I still absolutely hate the gimp thread though. It just seems like I can never keep it exactly where it needs to be even though it's in a repeating pattern and I should get it after a repeat or so.

I still haven't finished it, partly because it's a bit longer than some of the previous patterns, but it looks pretty much like it's suppose to...I think. Since I haven't gotten it off the board I still don't know whether the upgrade to cotton from polyester is going to make any difference in the finished piece. Hopefully I'll discover that today.

We have a doctor's appointment for oldest child today and some errands to run, so my free time will be limited. I think I really need to get back to some tatting though. I might have been away too long already as I'm getting too used to this thin thread. It's not as if I've had any ideas lately, or sales for that matter, I just don't want to abandon my primary craft. Maybe I'll just force myself to make something small this afternoon. Yeah, that's what I'll do, a little tatting sometime today.

Aargh

Yesterday was just as busy as predicted. There was a bit of cleaning followed by decorating, family and chaos, then more cleaning. That's the way of the family get together though and I do enjoy having them all around...at least for a few hours. I did mange to carve out a little sitting time in the morning and again in the evening, but I didn't get anything accomplished.

You see, I started this last Buck's Point piece with honeycomb lace and I thought I was doing alright when I realized that I had forgotten to start the gimp thread at all. Instead of backing up I decided to just start it at the first intersection on the pattern. Then I got so frustrated with the thing that I cut it off and pulled it out. I kept right on working until I started pulling pins from the beginning of the work exposing the last already done. That's when I noticed I'd fundamentally misunderstood the stitch I was working on. I had totally botched the whole thing. I should have just cut the bobbins loose at this point, but I didn't want to waste that much thread. Instead I chose to undo the whole thing, on stitch at a time. It became not only an exercise in patience, but also a lesson in undoing a piece without crying.

So I start today fresh. Either I try the piece again using what I've learned or I just decide to move onto the next lesson and come back to this later. Whichever I chose, I've got that on tap for today along with some extra schooling nonsense to worry about and hopefully getting some tatting in as well. At least i know when I tat for hours, I'll have something to show for it.

Another One Done

I only did anything creative on Friday. The rest of the weekend was devoted to family and birthday celebrating, but let's start with Friday first. I was really quite determined to finish this piece of lace on Friday since I had started it the day before. As I moved down the lace I finally got a glimpse of what I was creating. I probably should have opted for pins with smaller heads so I could see, but they are so much better for gripping than the smaller ones that came with the kit. You can see that I used those as well. This is also the first time that I bothered to take a picture that includes the bobbins themselves. They came with the kit I got so they're not particularly photogenic, but they work.

I did finish the piece and I have to admit that even though I really disliked handling the gimp thread, the thick one, throughout, I like the way it looks. It was particularly a pain anytime the two gimps crossed, just trying to figure out which bobbin threads needed to grab which one. I'm still not happy with the way the finished pieces are twisting though. I think some of the problem lies in the polyester sewing thread, so when we were out over the weekend I picked up some size 80 cotton thread since it was on clearance. The next piece I try will be using that to see if the results are any better. I'm almost done with the section on Buck's Point lace and then it's onto different shapes of lace. I don't mind telling you that after skimming that section not only do I wish that I had an actual bobbin lace pillow instead of this chunk of foam, I'm also rather frightened of the idea of turning the work. Also I'm rather thankful that this book only uses up to 12 pairs of bobbins. I'm not certain that my brain is ready to handle more of them yet.

I probably won't get anything done today though. The oldest child gets her birthday party today since the holiday gave us an extra weekend day. There will be decorating, a bit of pre-cleaning, chaos and family, followed by after-cleaning and collapsing. Since the weekend already held movie watching, zoo going and a little shopping, I'm starting today at an energy deficient so here's to the energy to get though and maybe a little sitting time for some lace.

More Bobbins

Yet another day full of bobbin lace. Yes, I did do a few other things including schooling the kids, watching some show and even some cleaning, but most of my spare time was with bobbins, thread and so many pins. This is the piece I spent most of the day on. The book has moved onto Buck's Point lace. I admit that it's a bit fiddlier than the Torchon, but I like the look of the ground here. There are still mistakes aplenty, but I did much better with my bobbin handling here.

After this one I went onto the second pattern which includes a new technique called gimps. I can't say as I'm a fan really, but it's not impossibly difficult. It is however so full of pins that I couldn't get a picture of the lace in progress to save my life. I guess you'll have to wait until I get it off the board to see how badly that one turns out.

I have been asked a couple of time what book I'm using to learn. Well I stumbled upon this site while trying to interpret the instructions that came with my Lacis bobbin kit, Jo Edkins' Lace Website. It was so helpful that when I saw she had a couple of kindle books, I downloaded them both. Since I have Kindle Unlimited they are free for me to essentially 'borrow' as long as I need them. The only one I've used so far is How To Make Bobbin Lace. I won't say that it's the perfect text, there are still points where I felt like there was too little instruction, particularly what to do between some elements, but it's gotten me this far and I'm quite grateful for that. Her book also links back to her website where the patterns you need to print are hosted. I know there are plenty of books out there, but it was suggested that it's easier to learn from one source at first to avoid conflicting terminology and I'm a sucker for instantly available information, so I'll stick with Jo until I'm comfortable enough to interpret patterns myself. I think it might be awhile before I stray.

Hiding In The Lace

There was no tatting to speak of yesterday I'm afraid. No orders and no great ideas either, so I just stayed with the bobbins all day. This new piece was filled with new techniques including what was referred to as a bud and something called trails. Like the last piece, it was fairly easy to see where each thread needed to go. It was however, not always easy to get them there. I spent quite a lot of time undoing and redoing sections as I came to the next element and realized that there was no way forward unless I fixed some issue rows up.

It was slow going, but with no other tasks on hand, I'm avoiding cleaning too early so I don't have to repeat myself, I could spend much of the day on the piece. I finished right before heading up for the night. It's still far from perfect, but I feel like I'm moving steadily forward with it.

I will have to stop and clean a few things soon. The weekend is going to be a long one with the child's birthday outings and her party. We're also nearing the end of their school year which means work samples, tests and year end events, so I'm beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed. I think that I might actually be hiding in the bobbins right now, afraid that if I look up, I'll have to get all this other stuff taken care of. At least I'm learning something new whilst I hide from responsibilities.

Success After Failure

I was so lucky to get an order in my shop while I was schooling the kids in the morning. So right after that I had a bracelet to remake for the shop. It's on of my favorites as well. The base is constructed with a lock stitch chain to avoid having to do split rings. Of course it really is a toss up as to which takes more time and effort to construct, but I like the look of lock stitch chain, so it wins simply on aesthetics. This is just that base section. After that it's a woven chain with beads giving the finished piece a nice weight.

Of course it was right back to the bobbins after this and I fought my first losing battle against a pattern with hearts. I didn't want to really do it in the first place as I just didn't like the look of the pattern, but I was going to for the sake of completing the lessons. It turns out when you already don't want to do something, it's harder to do and I gave up quickly and moved on to the next section of the book. This one started with learning the technique of braiding in the lace. I absolutely loved this little bit. It twists awfully, but I loved making it and went straight on to the next piece.

I want to say the book referred to this as English Midland lace and it too was so much easier for me to follow. It was very clear to me where each thread was suppose to go and where each joined. I even managed to mostly understand the making of picots. This one twists a bit as well, but not too much. In fact, I think this is the first one off the board that really looks like a finished piece of lace.

I'm definitely hoping for another day like yesterday. I felt productive and busy. I even had that nice feeling of accomplishment you get when you really start to understand what you're learning. So more bobbin lace today and hopefully some tatting as well.

Spiders

First off, I really want to thank everyone for their comments and words of support yesterday. It really means a lot that you took the time to share them. I know many of you have been through the loss of a pet as well and it helps to not feel alone with it. On to less depressing things now.

I decided to redo the spider section once before moving on and I'm really glad I did so. One of the issues I was having with this one was all the diagonals and making sure I left off the bobbin in the right spot. Again it was really an issue of understanding why I needed a bobbin in a certain place. On this second go, having already mucked it up once, I had that firmly in mind and I think that I got it. Sure there are still plenty of issues to work on here. My tension is sloppy, my spiders legs are too long and clearly using sewing thread results in an inferior lace, but I've going through so much thread right now that it seems the most economical way to work. I figure once I'm ready to produce a 'real' piece of lace I'll spring for better thread.

I did finish this one piece over the course of the day and it certainly kept my mind occupied. While there are still the afore mentioned issues with the piece, my previous mistakes were not repeated, so I'm calling it a win. I'm a little bummed that I didn't get any orders to force me to get to tatting as well, but I did get the bobbins wound for the next lesson.

So today I've got more bobbin lessons and I need to start thinking about cleaning the house for next weekend. The oldest daughter's birthday is fast approaching and that means a house full of family. I probably won't actually clean, but it'll be on my mind. I'm going to go ahead and cross my fingers for a tatting task again as well. It has to work someday right? Either way I'm going to force myself busy.

Sad

Well Friday was a pretty productive day. I finished the last piece of bobbin lace and save for a few small issues, it was pretty good. Then I went ahead and did the next lesson on spiders and apparently forgot to take any pictures of it. Of course that might be a good thing as I made a few glaring mistakes on that one including not linking two bobbins together properly which resulted in a split in the lace at the top and a half spider at one point.

Saturday however, was just a really bad day. Our oldest cat, Isis, the last of all our older cats had been acting lethargic and losing weight in the last couple of weeks, so we took her to the vet as a family. I had done some research, so I already had a fear that it was her kidneys, but we figured months of treatments. Instead the blood work showed kidney failure, a condition that even if temporarily reversed with intensive treatments would take her life soon. So, with the kids right there with us, we had to decide to, as the vet tried to gently put it, let her go. She was the cat most bonded with the kids and really all of us. There were lots of tears all weekend. This one was really hard especially since it's only been three months since our last cat passed away at home. She was also a surrogate mama to the four sibling cats we have left and they have no idea where she's gone now. Basically the whole household is out of balance and hopefully we'll all adjust to the loss soon.

As you might imagine, we did little else with the weekend, a walk, and a movie at home trying to keep busy. That's what we'll continue to do I imagine. I'll keep on with the bobbin lace as it definitely takes a lot of concentration at this point. I'm crossing my fingers for a tatting task as well, because tatting is very meditative and I could use a little of that right now. So here's to a better week than the weekend.

As Expected

For once in a long while, things went as planned. I got an order in the morning while I was schooling the kids and so I had a tatting project as soon as we were done. Even better it was something I actually haven't made in awhile, my eye patch. Yes I am aware that it is functionless, but it looks neat and was meant as a decorative, costume piece. It's a fairly quick piece to make, the hardest part is getting it joined to the wire just right. I actually ended up doing a few stitch count changes on it this go around as I was noticing some sections that didn't lay quite as perfectly. It sort of wrecks the easy math of the piece, but it looks better.

After that was made it was back to the bobbins. I'm still working on this section of lace and I think it's going to take another day at least just to finish the short design that I printed even though it will still be far too short to be useful for anything. I definitely learned a few more lessons about managing the bobbins locations after completing an element. Though I was a little too random with the removal of pins to reuse. I took a couple out of the top which I should have left in, but still a vast improvement.

I'm hoping to get this piece off the board today and I think I'm confident to move on to the next lesson in the book. I think it was called 'spiders', so that sounds interesting. I'll try to get some tatting in over the weekend though I'm still waiting for that inspiration I asked for. I'm starting to feel the need to create something new again, but I can't do that until I think of something. So here's to my creativity kicking into gear soon.

Bobbins

Well I was at the bobbins again all day yesterday. I just want to get competent with them and as I'm always telling people regarding tatting, there's no other way to do that than practice. This is the fan
headside pattern again, but much better this time. Though I'm still working it with the pattern blown up a bit, so the lace is generally too loose. Clearly I've still got some work to do, but it's definitely better than my first go, so I'm calling it a win.

After I finished one, I wound up all the bobbins again to try this more complicated one again. I completely failed the first time around, not understanding where I hadn't joined the thread properly. It was a complete mess. I'm still not completely sure of myself, but it already looks much better. All the threads are hanging where they ought to and that's already a vast improvement.

I'm going to try to step away from the bobbins at least a little today and get back to some tatting. I don't want learning a new skill to atrophy another one. Of course I did let tatting replace knitting, crochet, cross stitching, and everything else, but that's not going to happen this time. I am far too investing in my tatting. I'm crossing my fingers for some inspiration to float my way today.

Backing Up

I had an interesting arc of events yesterday. I was lucky enough to get a sale in my shop while I was schooling, so I had a kitty ear headband to get made once we were done. Unfortunately the youngest child had her mind set on playing chess and the oldest child didn't want to, leaving me to play. No, this was not unfortunate right off the bat, it got there as we all realized two things. I cannot play a game badly enough to let someone, even my child win, and the she is not emotionally stable enough to play a game she will lose. Let's just say that afternoon was filled with tears, laundry, reminders of our personality flaws, and promises to try again tomorrow.

After all that I still did get those ears made up and I followed that with winding all my bobbins for another go at some bobbin lace. I went back in the book to the first point where I had problems understanding the reason for the movements of the bobbins. I read more carefully and a few more things clicked into place for me. So I managed to get this practice piece for footsides all made up and off the pins. I had misinterpreted some instructions last time, not that the book is written badly, I guess I'm just carrying in my own preconceptions that cause me to read what I think I should be reading, no what is actually written.

After this I got the bobbins wound again in preparation for whatever I take on today. I think I might try the headside again so I get grasp where to leave the bobbins after finishing an element as that seems to be an issue for me. Other than that I'll probably make yet another pair of cat ears so I can have a backup pair on hand. Oh, and at least one game of chess, I can't forget that.

Pinhead

The first thing I did after schooling was to stare at the bobbin lace I had pinned up and then I proceeded to cut it down and start all over. I'm beginning to realize that until I truly understand what each maneuver is accomplishing, I won't get proficient at this skill. Sure, I can follow directions with the best of them, but as always I need to know why each thing is done not just how to do it. This means that I am starting over at the beginning to focus on the actual structure I'm creating.

Of course I didn't have this revelation until after I tried the next piece of lace in the book. That's what this nest of pins is all about. I was actually getting pretty good at the piece, but as I was removing pins for use further down the lace I spotted a glaring error. It was that error that led me to that earlier epiphany. There was no specific instruction to prevent what was clearly a mistake. Obviously, I hadn't yet fully grasped something fundamental. So I cut this one down as well and resigned myself to slowing down a bit, practicing what I've gotten so far and then moving on only when I understand. I have gotten my tatting to such an incredibly speed that it's hard to remind myself that I can't be that good at everything straight away. It took years to get this proficient with my needle and thread, so I shouldn't think that a week with the bobbins would get me there.

The shop is still slow and I'm still not feeling particularly creative, so I imagine I'll devote more time to the bobbin lace today. I'm pretty determined right now to get this down. Though I do need to be careful not to let myself get too focused and frustrated with it. When that I happens I'm likely to rage-quit and never pick it up again. It's a careful balancing act, but it's usually worth it.

Weekend Recap

Well, I had another lazy weekend. It wasn't really lazy, I just didn't carve out much time for lace making, so I don't have nay proof that I finished much. I did made up this bracelet on Friday. This is one of the few pieces I actually have listed as available in different lengths because the repeat of the design is small enough to do so. I sold one in the six inch length, so that's what I remade for the shop. Other than that, there was no shop activity over the weekend.

There was of course some cleaning in preparation for having the Mother's over on Sunday. That and some shopping as well. I didn't pull out the bobbins at all over the weekend and I'm afraid I'm going to have to start the headside piece all over again  because I took too long a break and lost the plot. I did finish reading another book that I found on clearance at the book store with the quiet time i was afforded on Sunday before our family get together. It was quite odd to read a big, physical book after so many digital ones in a row, but also nice. In case you're wondering it was NOS4A2 by Joe Hill and it was quite a good read even though I'm clearly late to the party in reading it.

This week seems pretty free of events, so I'm hoping that I get a burst of creative energy. If not I have another latch hook to play with and of course a book full of bobbin lace lessons to get on with. I think I should be able to stay busy if not interesting.

Done

You know what, I'm not even going to mention the choker I was suppose to make beyond this sentence. Instead I'm going to just tell you what I did get done yesterday. After schooling I starting in on the bobbin lace again. I'm on maybe the fourth or fifth lesson of it with the last completed thing being this strip of pseudo lace. This one has a sort of diamond pattern in it, but still no footside, so it's all wonky. I kept leaving the bobbins in the wrong spot after weaving the diamonds, so I had to undo and redo several times before I got through it.

After lunch I got those latch hooks turned into wall hangings. I was going to just put a ribbon on them, but the husband wisely pointed out that they would have bent in without some sort of support. Luckily I had some wood dowels on hand, so I made more stable hangers for them both. A little hot glue, some ribbon loops and they're ready to go. Of course after that I was pulling glue remains off my fingers for an hour before I could play with thread again without it snagging.

Once that was done, I rewound the bobbin, this time with regular sewing thread as I've almost depleted the thread that came with the kit. The next piece in the book is a fan headside. It continued to give me problems all afternoon. I just keep leaving bobbins in the wrong places and having to undo and redo repeatedly. Hopefully I start getting the hang of that and I'll have another piece of pseudo lace to show you on Monday. Maybe I'll even carve out some tatting time from the rather busy weekend I'm anticipating. Either way I'm sure to have something to share.

Distracted

Okay, so I didn't get that choker put together yesterday at all. I do have a valid excuse though. The child who was working on the other latch hook kit as a gift realized that she was not going to be able to finish it on time by herself, so I was drafted to speed it done. I spent much of the day with that canvas on my lap hooking as quickly as possible. I did mange to finish it including the sewing of the edges. Now all that needs to be done is to make them suitable for hanging.

All that latch hooking gave me zero time to work on any tatting at all, but I did squeeze in a little bobbin time. This is the second thing to come off the bobbins in a complete piece. Of course it's all twisty and unstable, but the website said it would be without the proper headside to it. The point is, I think I'm getting it. It really was the best idea to focus on one author and just work through everything that way. Things are starting to make sense and I think if I just take it one step at a time, by the end of the book, I should be able to figure things out a bit better on my own.

Aside from making the latch hooks creations into proper gifts today, I should have the time to create that choker. That is of course, unless another distraction pops up. Then it will be back to the bobbins. I got a whole batch of them winded and ready for whatever comes next.

Pride

As soon as schooling was done yesterday I pulled out that edging that I was working on last week. It amazing how few days it takes for me to forget what the stitch counts for something was. It took me a bit of counting to remember what I was doing, but eventually I had the piece worked up to choker length. It has yet to be turned into a choker because I just didn't fancy getting it put together and taking pictures yesterday. I suppose I really ought to try to get round to that today.

What I'm incredibly proud of achieving yesterday is my first piece of bobbin lace. Now mind you it's nothing real, nor useful, it's simply the first lesson I followed from beginning to end actually pulling off a piece of something completed. I'm using Jo Edkins' website and I just downloaded both of her books to help as well, though I haven't looked through them at all yet. The books were actually available through Kindle Unlimited so I get to look through them for free, but I digress. The piece here is just a simple footside, but like I said it's the first one I did to any length and didn't undo to try something else.

So today I'll try to muster up the motivation to get that edging turned into a choker and listed in my shop. I'm certain to be playing more with the bobbins as well. I currently have a torchon lace ground section in progress. It is so hard for me to just start from the beginning and do these practice pieces. I want to be making finished pieces already and incorporate them into my tatting, but patience is indicated here, so I'll slow down and work my way up. One day, far in the future, I might even be good at this.

That and This

Yesterday was just as satisfyingly busy as I hoped it would be. I started the day by finishing the latch hook kit that will be a Mother's day gift for one of the children's grandmas. Well I mean I started the day after schooling with that. It took a while, but I figured out the best way for me to sew the backing down. This was important because I think I'll be the one doing that part for even the ones the kids make.

Just before that was finished I got an anklet order in my shop. This was the perfect excuse to get tatting.  I remade the anklet while watching television with the kids. This one is made with Lizbeth medium raspberry thread ans some silver seed beads in a fairly classic pattern.

Once that was done I pulled out the bobbin lace again. I've bookmarked a site on the subject and I'm trying desperately to make it feel familiar to me, but I think there's just so much to it that would be loads easier with an actual teacher. Of course that's not going to happen, so I'll muddle through. I do think I've got the hang of the torchon lace ground though.  Perhaps I'll just stick with that for a bit before moving on to more complex maneuvers even though the fancy ones are so neat looking.

Since I finished the latch hook I've got a little less on deck for today. I can still go back to the edging I was working on last week for tatting and of course I'll try to spend a little time each day with the bobbins. Other than that I'll just have to wait and see what the day brings.

This and That

Well, we had a nice long weekend around here including adventuring, The Avengers, and Free Comic Book Day. On Friday while one child was testing the other asked to go to Michael's so she could get a 'string thing' to make. The 'string thing' she was asking for turned out to be a cross stitch kit. While we were there I looked about for anything bobbin lace related, there was of course nothing, but then we saw a bunch of latch hook kits on clearance. I thought, here's something the kids can do all by themselves and feel a nice sense of accomplishment, so we bought a few. They both took to it rather well, so I'm pretty glad I spent the $5 or so for each of them. We even decided to make two of them Mother's Day presents for the grandmas. I was also roped into working on one so it would get done in time and I have to tell you it is so relaxing to do a project that requires so little thought, just the meditative movement of my hands and yarn.

Other than the latch hooking, I did attempt my first go at the bobbin lace. Again, this is only possible because some wonderful people made videos and websites with clear information. That being said this seems to be a very complex world. The worst being that between the different sites and the written information in the kit there appears to be terminology confusion. It seems that some people refer to one combination of movements with one name and others with a different name. Worse some of the same names are used by different people to describe entirely different combinations of movements. I have to admit to some steady confusion personally. I'm hoping as I read and watch more things will sort themselves out. I've clearly made some mistakes here, but this is the first bit that looks even remotely like it's suppose to. This undertaking is going to take some concentration.

We're back to a nice normal week as far as schooling is concerned. The weekend lacked any sales in the shop, so I don't have anything needing remaking, but I'm hoping that I get some relaxing time to get to some tatting, a little latch hooking, and some bobbin lace. That's actually sounds like a lot to stuff in the day, so I guess we'll just see how it goes.

Stress

Yesterday was a bit of a stressful one. It wasn't any one thing, but a whole lot of little ones that I suppose have been building up for awhile. It seems to have culminated in a very knotted up back this morning. It seems that testing season is almost as stressful for me as it is for the child. I won't get into particulars, but let's just say I think I need a vacation from everything. Since that's not going to happen though, I really just need to try and not let every little thing add itself to the pile that is apparently stacked on my back.

Back to tatting though. I still haven't finished the choker yet. I was distracted by other things. I did work on the slave bracelet that sold in my shop though. This one is made using the same elements that are in my Petals Pattern. I didn't add this one to the sale pattern because I wanted to keep a little something for myself though. It was fairly quick to work up which is good because of all that distraction I was talking about earlier. Let me just say how much I hate having to be the 'grown up' sometimes. It's really the worst.

In other lace news, I decided that it was about time for me to learn something new. I've been tatting almost exclusively for a decade now and while I'm still pretty far from being an expert, I've certainly gotten the hang of it. So for my new craft attempt, I picked up a bobbin lace kit. It was at a nice reduced price and the kids are old enough for me to leave pins and bobbins around, so it was time. I'm sure I'll show you what I'm up to once I'm confident that I have half a clue. So far, it's a bit of a mess. If I didn't have the internet to supplement the  inadequate instructions included in the kit I would have tossed the thing in the trash. Thank goodness for how-to videos. I'm also hoping that this will reduce, not increase my stress level. I'm not sure that will be the case yet though. I'm crossing my fingers.